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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433946">for the rest of my days, no you don’t have to worry</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaclavenders/pseuds/lilaclavenders'>lilaclavenders</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Zukka love each other but they haven’t said it until now, mentions of dead bodies?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:15:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>735</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26433946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilaclavenders/pseuds/lilaclavenders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p> <em> “What are you talking about?!” Zuko shouts, letting Sokka help him up the last leg of the climb. </em></p>
  <p> <em>“Yue- She left me part of herself, of Tui,” Sokka explains, with a small smile. “I’m going to return it to her, and that means you’ll be able to get out safely.”</em></p>
  <p> <em>“I can’t leave without you,” Zuko stubbornly declares, clasping Sokka’s hands. “I-“ </em><br/></p>
</blockquote>Zuko and Sokka’s first journey together is also their last.
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>for the rest of my days, no you don’t have to worry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>title taken from hey lover - daughters of eve</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sokka and Zuko burst into the Spirit Oasis, only to see the bodies of the Northern Tribe officials, bloodied and lifeless. They run towards the centre, and check the pond, and Sokka has to stop himself from throwing up when he sees Arnook’s body floating, bones contorted at unnatural angles.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Their bones...” Zuko begins. “This isn’t-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s gonna happen again,” Sokka says with a gasp, watching Tui lifelessly float in the pond, “She’s gone- We’ve been tricked.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Zuko gruffly responds, “We’ll be fine.” He furiously searches the cliff above them and spots a large group of earthbenders surrounding them. “<em>Shit</em>, it’s those assassins again!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>Zuko</em>,” Sokka desperately cries, “There’s too many of them- You can’t fight them all!” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The earth surrounding the pond starts to give way, and ground begins to break underneath them, Sokka blinks in realisation, quickly picks up the fish in a sealed bag, making sure they are submerged in some water. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know that!” Zuko shouts over the noise, and he has to pull Sokka closer. “Just stay with me, I’ll think of something!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s okay,” Sokka laughs in relief. “I’ve got a plan.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Great,” Zuko laughs back, but it fades into confusion as he finds Sokka looking up, eyes narrowed. “What is it?” </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The earthbenders are beginning to break their way through to Zuko and Sokka, and Sokka’s beginning to climb up the fallen pieces of earth.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I understand what she did for me,” Sokka says, while Zuko struggles to catch up. “She said she’d always be with me!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“What are you talking about?!” Zuko shouts, letting Sokka help him up the last leg of the climb. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>Yue</em>- She left me part of herself, of <em>Tui</em>,” Sokka explains, with a small smile. “I’m going to return it to her, and that means you’ll be able to get out safely.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I can’t leave without you,” Zuko stubbornly declares, clasping Sokka’s hands. “I-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I know it’s a lot to ask your best friend to watch you turn into the moon,” Sokka gently huffs, his voice thinning out from exertion. He gives Zuko the bag and gently takes Tui out, holding her with one hand and gripping Zuko’s sleeve with the other. “But you can’t leave your nation without a leader, <em>Zuko</em>, you’re too important.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Zuko hisses, breaking Sokka’s fall with his free arm. He watches Tui glow with a grimace, and puts her back into the bag. When Zuko looks back up, Sokka’s spiritual form is already floating in front of him, quiet and serene.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“This isn’t what I had in mind, when I said I wanted to see the world with you,” Sokka jokes, and he kisses Zuko’s forehead. “I’m sorry, Zuko, but you’re gonna have to make the rest of the journey by yourself.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I can’t-“</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If there’s one thing you can do, it’s to never forget that I love you!” Sokka shouts with conviction. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1"> Zuko gasps, a devastated sound, and almost leaps at Sokka’s lips. “<em>Sokka,</em>“ He blinks his tears away, “This isn’t how it was supposed to go,” he whispers into the space between their mouths, as if it would undo it all. “I’ve been waiting for years, and you say it on the day you die, knowing I’ll never get to hear you say it again.”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You know it’s always been like this! When has anything ever gone right for us?” Sokka wetly laughs.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re such an ass, I love you <em>so much</em>,” Zuko laughs, trying to keep Sokka tethered his own body, but his hands start to go through his spiritual form and </span>
  <span class="s1">Sokka still smiles, despite it all.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Sokka rests his forehead on Zuko’s.  “Now go, and don’t you dare stop to mope until you’ve seen every inch of every kingdom!”</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Zuko stays there, helplessly watching Sokka’s smile fade off into nothing. Zuko’s</span>
  <span class="s1"> eyes quickly go back down to Sokka’s lifeless body, curled up in a ball, and Zuko has never felt so empty. </span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">If he imagined hard enough, it was almost like they were back in their carriage, and Sokka had simply fallen asleep on his lap after a long day of travelling, in the middle of telling Zuko a random story.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Zuko gently tucks some of Sokka’s hair behind his ear and kisses his forehead before he leaves Sokka behind to bask in the moonlight and as the earthbenders approach, encases himself in a ball of fire, smothering himself in a raging grief.

</span></p><p class="p2"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i took some liberties with this - ik in ATLA that yue’s body turns into her spirit body, but i wanted to take the approach that the body is split into physical and spiritual parts!! also the image of zuko looking at sokka’s body in moonlight and eventually having to leave him behind is a bit sad. </p><p>also the earthbenders are probably ozai loyalists or smth? and they snuck around to bonebend the shit out of the northern tribe council, but probably wanted to keep zuko alive for some reason? </p><p>anyway have a nice day</p></blockquote></div></div>
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